News

San Francisco: Police standoff on Treasure Island ends after suspect shoots himself

By Daniel M. Jimenez Bay Area News Group

Posted:
11/27/2012 06:51:15 AM PST

Updated:
11/27/2012 05:50:46 PM PST

SAN FRANCISCO -- A six-hour standoff with police ended Tuesday morning after a man wanted in connection with a Benicia carjacking reportedly shot at a police officer while fleeing in a stolen car and apparently took his own life on Treasure Island, authorities said.

The standoff shut down all of the ramps to and from the island until about 6 a.m. as police negotiators attempted to talk the man into surrendering. The San Francisco Medical Examiner identified the man late Tuesday as 29-year-old Duncan Phillips, who was wanted in connection with a Benicia incident last week.

San Francisco police said they spotted the suspect driving a stolen red 2004 Ford Taurus around 11 p.m. Monday night near the intersection of Mason and Bush streets. Officers tried to pull him over, but he would not stop.

The man fired a single shot at the police, but no one was hurt. He led police on a pursuit onto eastbound Interstate 80, eventually stopping at the Treasure Island off-ramp, exiting his car and threatening to shoot himself.

Just before 5 a.m., officers heard a single gunshot from the shoreline where the suspect had retreated. Officers moved in and found him suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced him dead a short time later.

Benicia police had been seeking Phillips, who had reportedly stolen a 2004 red Taurus from his former girlfriend after pistol whipping and robbing a 52-year-old Benicia woman on Thanksgiving. Phillips' Facebook page says he managed an apartment building in Chico and was a Benicia High School graduate and attended Laney College.

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Benicia police say that Monday they obtained a $230,000 arrest warrant for Phillips on charges of robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, carjacking and attempted robbery.